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CapitalPress.com
June 30, 2017
People & Places
Turning ideas into equipment
Jonathan Gobel builds
implements to meet
farmers’ unique needs
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
Design and build
Such projects are com-
mon at Gobel’s 3-year-old
business, Iron Tree Solutions.
The fi rm specializes in devel-
oping and making parts and
equipment to meet the unique
needs of farmers.
For instance, the business
developed a 24-foot swing-
blade scraper used for level-
Jonathan Gobel
Occupation: Rice grow-
er and owner, Iron Tree
Solutions
Age: 39
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
Jonathan Gobel with a sprayer his company designed. Gobel designs and builds custom equipment
to meet area farmers’ needs.
ing fi elds. More than 40 of
the swing blade units have
been sold, he said.
Gobel is a native of the
mid-valley, having grown up
on a rice farm and graduated
from Maxwell High School.
A tinkerer all his life, he went
to work out of high school at
the Morning Star Packing Co.
in Williams, where he helped
develop a tomato harvester.
“I realized that I really
enjoy providing that kind of
a service for anybody who
comes along with an idea,”
he said.
In 2010, Gobel purchased
a stake in a manufacturing
company in Oregon’s Willa-
mette Valley with more than
100 employees. A year later,
he sold his share to his part-
ner and moved home.
“When I owned the other
business, it was basically a
job shop and all I was doing
was scheduling,” he said. “It
was OK, but it was not really
what I wanted to spend my
time doing.”
Gobel’s Iron Tree Solu-
tions has a research and de-
velopment shop where he and
designer Jeff Mingay draw
custom-ordered parts with a
computer program called In-
ventor, which uses three-di-
mensional imagery.
The shop makes parts
with a waterjet cutter, a tool
common in industries such as
mining and aerospace which
uses a high-pressure jet of
water to cut steel and other
materials.
When a new machine or
part is designed, Iron Tree
makes two or three of them
to test in the fi eld, then sends
the computerized specifi ca-
tions to the Kansas-based
Landoll Corp. to make more,
Gobel said.
“They build it and ship
it to us,” he said. “It really
works well for us to keep our
overhead low.”
New sprayer
Historically, spray appli-
cations were made from the
air, before the proliferation of
nuts and other specialty crops
and stricter air quality regu-
lations made aerial applica-
tions problematic.
Chrisman, the Williams
rice producer, has also sus-
tained “terrible” losses of rice
from steel wheels, and there
was ground on which he
couldn’t go, he said. He de-
cided to try tank-like tracks.
He put them on a four-wheel-
er and it worked, so he had
Gobel’s business help him
develop a sprayer.
About 1,000 acres of rice
ground on the west side of the
valley have soils that essen-
tially “have no bottom,” so
sprayers with steel wheels get
stuck, Gobel said. Growers
Associated Press
MADRAS, Ore. (AP) —
Just before sunrise, there’s
typically nothing atop Round
Butte but the whistle of the
wind and a panoramic view
of Oregon’s second-high-
est peak glowing pink in the
faint light.
But on Aug. 21, local offi -
cials expect this lookout point
just outside the small town
of Madras to be crammed
with people from around the
world, all hoping for the fi rst
glimpse of the moon’s shad-
ow as it crosses Mount Jef-
ferson’s snow fi elds. Then, a
solar eclipse will throw the
entire region into complete
darkness for two minutes.
The fi rst coast-to-coast
total solar eclipse to cross
the continental United States
in 99 years will fi rst be vis-
ible in Oregon, and Madras
is predicted to be among the
country’s best viewing spots
because of its clear, high-des-
ert skies, fl at landscape and
stunning mountain views.
Up to 1 million eclipse
chasers will descend on Or-
egon for the celestial event,
and offi cials are bracing for
as many as 100,000 of them
in and around Madras.
In this vast expanse of
ranches and farms, rural,
two-lane roads could mean
traffi c jams of cosmic propor-
tions. Every hotel in Madras
is booked, some residents
are renting their homes for
$3,000 a night, and campers
are expected to fl ood the na-
tional forests and grasslands
during peak wildfi re season.
The state’s emergency
coordination center will gear
Solar eclipse to
darken Oregon skies
Pendleton
Portland
Newport
Corvallis
Eugene
Madras, Oregon: totality
starts at 10:19 a.m. and
lasts more than 2 min.
Path of total eclipse,
August 21, 2017
Sources: www.eclipse2017.org;
www.greatamericaneclipse.com
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
up, and fi rst responders will
prepare to respond to any
trouble as they would for an
earthquake or other natural
disaster. Cell towers could
be overwhelmed, traffi c will
be gridlocked, and police and
fi re stretched to the max man-
aging the crowds.
“Bring extra water, bring
food. You need to be pre-
pared to be able to survive on
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Residence: Willows, Calif.
were left with no alternative
but to spray from the air —
until the new machines with
tracks came along.
“This machine has done
600 acres in those conditions
and done just fi ne,” Gobel
said.
The new sprayer also has
a wider reach, with booms
that measure 105 feet across.
This enables growers to cov-
er more ground in less time.
With other sprayers, “we
could only do 30 acres of
ground in an hour, so a 150-
acre fi eld would take us fi ve
hours,” Chrisman said. “Now
we can do it in three hours.”
Chrisman said it’s easy to
bring new ideas to Gobel’s
company.
The quest to stay abreast
of the latest advancements
in technology takes Gobel to
lots of trade shows, he said.
But he has little desire to
grow his company, he said.
“I don’t want to get big,”
he said. “I don’t want to be a
huge conglomerate. I want to
stay small. I want to be able
to shift gears.
“We’re a place where
farmers can come to us and
say, ‘Build this,’” he said.
Total solar eclipse puts spotlight on rural Oregon town
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Mike Omeg
Corporate Offi cer
John Perry
Chief Operating Offi cer
By TIM HEARDEN
WILLIAMS, Calif. —
Jonathan Gobel was in his
element. Some rice growers
in the area needed a more
effi cient spray rig for their
crops without causing pesti-
cide drift onto nearby nut or-
chards, so he and his partners
sat down at the computer.
They fashioned a spray-
er with tracks instead of the
steel wheels that are more
common, enabling the grow-
er to get into areas with soft
soils. They made the arms
wider so fewer passes in the
fi eld were needed, and made
them adjustable so they could
be lowered to just above the
rice to avoid drift.
And they made it all hap-
pen fast.
“We started design on the
sprayer in November and
built it from the ground up,”
said Gobel, 39, himself a rice
grower. “It typically takes
three to fi ve years to develop
a sprayer like that. We started
in November and had a roll-
ing chassis in the (Colusa)
Farm Show in February.”
The sprayer — which was
largely the brainchild of rice
grower Randy Chrisman —
was used this spring and ear-
ly summer.
Capital Press
your own for 24 to 48 to 72
hours, just like you would in
any sort of emergency,” said
Dave Thompson, spokesman
for the Oregon Department of
Transportation. “This is pret-
ty much a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, and it’s really
worth seeing. But you’ve got
to be prepared or you won’t
enjoy it.”
When the moon passes be-
tween the sun and the Earth,
the path of totality — mean-
ing total darkness — from the
moon’s shadow will begin on
Oregon’s coast, then cross
the north-central part of the
state from west to east.
But as the hype builds,
authorities are increasing-
ly worried that people who
planned to watch from the
notoriously foggy coast could
move east at the last minute if
the forecast sours.
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Index
Calendar
Sponsored by:
To submit an event go to the
Community Events calendar on
the home page of our website at
www.capitalpress.com and click on
“Submit an Event.” Calendar items
can also be mailed to Capital Press,
1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem, OR
97301 or emailed to newsroom@
capitalpress.com.
Through Saturday,
July 1
128th Annual Washington State
Grange Convention. Ocean Shores
Convention Center, 120 W. Chance
a La Mer NW, Ocean Shores,
Wash.
Friday, June 30
Farm Practices to Support Ben-
efi cial Insects. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Day 2
of this two-day class will offer a tour
of the Wandering Fields farm in the
Applegate area. Participants will
practice identifying benefi cials and
observe how a blend of hedgerows,
cover crops, fl owering seed crops
and native plants creates a system
of biological pest management.
Participation on Day 1 on June 9
is a requirement to attend the tour.
Cost: $15 one/$25 two from the
same farm. Website: http://bit.ly/
JacksonSmallFarmDream.
Bark Beetle Field Day. 8 a.m.-5
p.m. University of Idaho Extension
Kootenai County offi ce, 1808 N.
Third St., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Participants will get fi rst-hand expo-
sure to major bark beetles’ biology
and research into controlling bark
beetles. Pre-register by June 23.
Cost: $20 ($22 with a credit card at
www.uidaho.edu/BarkBeetle) Web-
site: www.uidaho.edu/extension/
forestry
Friday-Tuesday
June 30-July 4
St. Paul Rodeo. Rodeo Arena,
20045 Fourth St. NE, St. Paul, Ore.
The St. Paul Rodeo will continue
to bring a slice of the old West to
the north Willamette Valley. Infor-
mation: (503) 633-2011, tickets@
stpaulrodeo.com, Website: http://
www.stpaulrodeo.com/
Saturday-Tuesday
July 1-4
Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, 815
Shirley St., Molalla, Ore. The Molalla
Buckeroo Rodeo has been an Ore-
gon tradition since September 1913.
503-829-8388. Website: http://www.
molallabuckeroo.com/
Eugene Pro Rodeo. 4 p.m. to mid-
night on July 1-3, 7:30 to 10 p.m. July
4. Eugene Rodeo Grounds. 90751
Prairie Road, Eugene, Ore. Fireworks
each night. Website: http://www.euge-
neprorodeo.com/
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
Thursday-Sunday
July 6-9
Marion County Fair. Oregon
State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St.
NE, Salem, Ore. Website: http://
www.co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair
Friday-Saturday
July 7-8
2nd Annual Prineville Truck and
Tractor Pull. 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m.
Saturday. Crook County Fairgrounds,
1280 Main St., Prineville, Ore. Web-
site: www.crookcountyfairgrounds.
com
Idaho State Ram Sale. Twin
Falls County Fair Grounds, 215 Fair
Ave., Filer, Idaho. The “Suffolk
Show of the West” begins at 6 p.m.
Friday and continues at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday. For more information, call
208-344-2271 or email idahowool@
gmail.com Website: idahowool.org
Wednesday, July 12
Blueberry Field Day. 1-5 p.m.
North Willamette Research and
Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley
Road. Aurora, Ore. Find out about
the latest research in blueber-
ries. http://oregonstate.edu/dept/
NWREC/
Friday, July 14
Ag One Community Salute. 6-9
20 Northwest Locations
p.m. Fresno Convention Center Ex-
hibit Hall, 700 M St., Fresno, Calif. The
event’s 18th edition is the fi rst to honor
a family and will spotlight third-genera-
tion member Tina Borba and her sons,
Ross Jr. and Mark, as well as Mark’s
wife Peggy Brown-Borba. Proceeds
will benefi t the Ag One Ross Borba
Sr. Family Endowment established in
1990, which supports deserving Fres-
no State students pursuing Jordan
College of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology degrees. Website: http://
bit.ly/2qLfdLD
Friday, July 14-
Sunday, July 30
California State Fair. 10 a.m.-
10 p.m. Cal Expo Center, 1600 Ex-
position Blvd., Sacramento, Calif.
Website: www.castatefair.org/
Saturday, July 15
Washington State Sheep Pro-
ducers Ram and Ewe Sale. 1:30-
6 p.m. Grant County Fairgrounds,
3953 Airway Drive NE, Moses
Lake, Wash. For questions, call
509-200-2112. Email: wssp@gmx.
com
Farm to Table Dinner and Auc-
tion. 5:30-9 p.m. Oregon Garden, 879
W. Main St., Silverton, Ore. Guests
to this event will savor the fl avors of
the season with food donated from
local farmers picked at the peak of
1-800-765-9055
ripeness and prepared by Chef Daryl
Gossack at Loustic Catering. Tickets
are on sale now at our website or by
phone. Through June 17 tickets are
$85 per and $95 after June 18. The
event is presented by Bonaventure
Senior Living and all proceeds will feed
people in our community through Mar-
ion-Polk Food Share. Website: http://
bit.ly/2qth9a1
Saturday-Sunday
July 29-30
47th Annual Great Oregon
Steam-Up. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Power-
land Heritage Park, 3995 Brooklake
Road NE, Brooks, Ore. Packed with
vintage power, this annual event cel-
ebrates the steam power, machines
and people who drove Oregon
agriculture, logging, transportation
and more from the 1800s through
early 1900s. Get upclose to the
team-power farm machinery, vintage
trucks, antique cars, logging gear
and a working steam sawmill. Kids
of all ages will enjoy train and trolley
rides, daily parade, huge fl ea market,
traditional tractor pulling, machinery
demos, threshing and quilt show.
This year the featured makes are
Aultman-Taylor and Rumely. General
admission $12, children under 12 are
free. Website: http://www.antique-
powerland.com/html/steam-up.html
Opinion .................................. 6
Idaho ...................................... 8
Oregon .................................. 9
Washington ......................... 10
California ...............................11
Markets ............................... 13
Dairy/ Livestock ................... 14
Clarifi cation
In a June 16 story about
rattlesnakes, an expert rec-
ommended elevating a snake
bite above the victim’s heart.
However, the Mayo Clinic ad-
vises positioning the bite at or
below the level of the heart.
In any case, seeking
prompt medical care should
be a priority, the experts agree.
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital
Press staff and to our readers.
If you see a misstatement,
omission or factual error in a
headline, story or photo caption,
please call the Capital Press
news department at
503-364-4431, or send email to
newsroom@capitalpress.com.
We want to publish corrections to
set the record straight.